Manage updates with the Download AppApple TV (fall 2010)
Manufacturer: Apple Part number: MC572LL/A
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Apple TV is an excellent streaming video box, especially for Apple fans who will use AirPlay and the upcoming iTunes Match service, but it's missing a few key apps like Hulu Plus and Pandora.
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CNET editors' review
Apple TV (fall 2010) price range: $285.98 - $389.95
- Reviewed by: Matthew Moskovciak
- Edited by: John Falcone
- Reviewed on: 09/30/2010
- Released on: 09/28/2010
The good: The Apple TV lets you stream all of the movies and TV shows available in the iTunes Store to your HDTV on a pay-per-view basis, with purchases stored in the cloud for future on-demand access. It offers Netflix and a handful of other online video, audio, and photo services, and can stream content from any iOS device or computer running iTunes. Apple TV's user interface is the best of its kind.
The bad: The competing Roku 2 offers more streaming services, including Amazon Instant, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, and Pandora. The new AirPlay mirroring feature seems cool, but doesn't currently have much practical use. And the upcoming Roku LT will offer much of the same streaming functionality for half the price. Apple TV won't work with older, pre-HD TVs.
The bottom line: The Apple TV is an excellent streaming video box, especially for Apple fans who will use AirPlay and the upcoming iTunes Match service, but it's missing a few key apps like Hulu Plus and Pandora.
User reviews
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Small, Easy, Affordable, Simple.
by jeffreyallanrich on October 5, 2010
Pros: 10 minute set-up with moderate A/V knowledge. HDMI to TV, Optical chord to speakers, download latest version of iTunes, enable home sharing and your good to go. The chords and router which you may already own, are more expensive than the device.
Cons: No volume control means fumbling two remotes. Library not yet fully stocked. Some may ask "what else?" when it comes to features. Problems with
Summary: Consider this a new product line with extremely low barriers to entry . More network deals and software updates will evolve this into a must have over the next 12 months. ...
Summary: Consider this a new product line with extremely low barriers to entry . More network deals and software updates will evolve this into a must have over the next 12 months. For now, this is one of the best ways to see your Netflix instant queue on your big screen and if you don't mind using your Mac or PC as a library, this is the best way to play your movies and music using your home theater.
Now that I can so easily play media from my computer on the big screen, it finally makes sense to buy high-quality movies and tv shows with replay value from iTunes as opposed to buying blu-rays/dvds.
First they got all my music purchases, haven't bought a cd in years. Then they get all my gaming purchases through their app store -- I've stopped using console and handheld gaming systems thanks to the iphone and ipad. Now they'll get my movie dollars, too.
It sounds like the folks at apple have realized hat its about media spending market share. They cancharge $100 bucks for a cool new device; the real money is in their cut of the $500 plus/year those folks will spend on purchases and rentals. And the customers don't mind, because we were spending it anyway!
Welcome to 2010.10 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Very Impressed from the "Hobby" of Apple
by FS1982! on November 23, 2010
Pros: The idea of Airplay is golden! Nice design and good price point.
Cons: There was no overwhelming con to this product. Yeah there are things that I wished could be here sooner, apps, streaming recorded video from iPhone 4, etc but I have a feeling all that will be coming.
Summary: Airplay was the reason I purchased this product a few days before the 4.2 update and I can tell you it is even better than I thought it would ...
Summary: Airplay was the reason I purchased this product a few days before the 4.2 update and I can tell you it is even better than I thought it would be. I am an iPhone 4, iPad, and iMac owner and Airplay was definitely the best thing to come out of the recent updates. This is so simple to do setup and there are features that you can't see unless you own one. For instance, this setup appears to be the quickest way to show pictures to friends in person at your house on the best screen in the house. I can literally take a picture on my iphone and show it on my big screen in less than 5 seconds...no joke. I can download a song on my iphone and play it immediately on my surround sound system. It is phenomenal! I don't think any setup is faster or more convenient. Even if you have a computer hooked up as your media hub you would have to email (or post) the picture to yourself and use a keyboard/mouse to jump into your email and pull up the picture. Another con I thought of was, you have to be an Apple user for many of the benefits. If you're not using an iOS device you may not see the the innovation behind ATV. For those of you who have an iOS device I think you will be amazed at what you can do and the ease with which you do it. I think ATV is really a treat for those who dedicated iOS users. I could certainly see if someone thinks the functionality would be the same with other devices will be disappointed, so if you're reading this make sure you research your options carefully.
5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Just bought my second Apple TV2
by Gadget70 on April 11, 2011
Pros: Incredibly easy to setup and brings all my music, photos, movies and TV shows wherever I have an Apple TV
Cons: Trying to think how to improve it.... iOS games would be very cool!
Summary: I just bought my second Apple TV2 today. I bought my first one back in December 2010 and have been extremely happy with it. I'm full on into the ...
Summary: I just bought my second Apple TV2 today. I bought my first one back in December 2010 and have been extremely happy with it. I'm full on into the Apple eco system with all my media stored on my iMac with iPhones for all the family members and an iPad to share. All I can say is everything works perfect with the Applet TV2 and it took only 10 minutes to setup. I would also recommend a Harmony remote which I have at both my TV/AppleTV2 locations to reduce remote clutter. The AppleTV2 works great with the harmony remote. Using Handbrake, it's very easy to get all your video/movies/tv shows into iTunes and once it's there, it's on your AppleTV2 as well for large screen consumption. I have to hand it to Apple, their hobby has definitely grown up into a real and useful device. Down the road I can definitely see an AppleTV at every TV in my house and a blu-ray player on for my main big-movie screen so I can enjoy my 1080P. But for everyday movies and TV shows at 720P and music & photos it's the cats meow. My next project is getting all my movies into iTunes. Pretty soon I'm going to have to look at a 3TB network hard drive like the myBook world edition with ethernet connectability to hold all my stuff. Bottom line...Apple TV2 is highly recommended if you buy into the Apple/iTunes eco system.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best AppleTV Yet!
by JGowan on October 1, 2010
Pros: Faster, Smaller, Cheaper! I've been wanting to get an ATV but have waited until now. I don't care about buying content on the device if it keeps the price low. If I need to buy, I'll buy a real copy from Wal-Mart and rip it myself --> then stream it!
Cons: No customer accessible USB port to add a hard drive to. This isn't really a big deal though as streaming takes care of what I need to do. One thing I always wanted in an ATV was a blu-ray drive but that would never happen and would've made it more $!
Summary: In order for this to become a success, Apple needed to get the price to $99. I think it's an impulse buy now for those buying a computer or ...
Summary: In order for this to become a success, Apple needed to get the price to $99. I think it's an impulse buy now for those buying a computer or even an iPad. With 8GB of onboard storage, we'll be getting Apps on this and this will become the box that can do it all. Any shortcomings on TV rentals will disappear as networks offer their own apps.
I own a lot of DVDs that I've ripped and just want to be able to use on either TV (I have two 50" HDTVs) and I have a Mac Mini on one room. I like it but you still have to use a mouse and keyboard to get things started. Also, the setup is too cumbersome to tote back and forth from livingroom and bedroom. The AppleTV however will very portable and I'll be able to move it back and forth with ease. Mainly I just want to be able to stream whatever I have to either set and the ATV lets me do this without any problems and is much cheaper than investing in another Mini which is what I've been thinking of doing.
I think that Apple has finally the hardware and software just right to get these into millions of homes. I think that with an App store, this would just be a magical device!3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Pleasantly Surprised
by dawagner1 on October 27, 2010
Pros: Dead simple setup. Easily streams media (music, video, photos) from my computer. Great price. Very nice Netflix interface. YouTube access is very good as well
Cons: Wish it had access to Hulu. Also wish it had access to the major networks web sites or had iPad like applications (hopefully will come sometime soon). Being able to rent movies and TVs is a snap
Summary: Super clean and easy to use product. There seems to be a ton of potential as well. I like that it can easily access all of my media on my ...
Summary: Super clean and easy to use product. There seems to be a ton of potential as well. I like that it can easily access all of my media on my computer (through iTunes) as well as the Netflix and YouTube access. Can't wait to see what the future brings.
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great for anyone invested in the Apple ecosystem!
by oeidesign on October 19, 2011
Pros: Integration with iTunes, iPad, iPod, iPhoto! This can't be beat by any other device. I have a Roku HD and the Revue/Google TV. Apple TV is the best if you have other Apple products. Remote control from the iPad bypasses the minimalist remote that comes wi
Cons: Needs Hulu+ and Pandora.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best addon option for TVs if you like the rental model
by aqnguyen87 on October 6, 2010
Pros: FAST and SUPER small form factor, wireless N, iphone/ipod controller function is very nice, no longer a hot plate
Cons: none so far
Summary: This thing is FAST. Owners/users of the first generation appletv will really appreciate this. As soon as you rent a movie, play a netflix item, or stream something from ...
Summary: This thing is FAST. Owners/users of the first generation appletv will really appreciate this. As soon as you rent a movie, play a netflix item, or stream something from your computer, its starts almost instantly, there is virtually no buffer time at all. (I'm on a 10mb down cable line). The iphone/ipod controller function is a welcome and makes the remote that comes with it collect dust. I can't wait to see when the Airplay functions comes later this month, I will update my review again when i get the chance to play with that feature, but even without it I am still very happy with my purchase. Best $100 I ever spent with apple!
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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My media library just grew significantly
by 88teeth1 on September 30, 2010
Pros: Small, easy setup, great picture, smooth interface, great price
Cons: None right now.
Summary: I got mine yesterday in the mail and was eager to set it up right away. I had done everything and was excited to see how my content in my ...
Summary: I got mine yesterday in the mail and was eager to set it up right away. I had done everything and was excited to see how my content in my iTunes library looked on it. To my dismay, the Apple TV only recognized my wife's computer which only has music on it. I got on some discussion boards to see if maybe my laptop needed to be connect to my airport extreme, which would've sucked. I found out that there was a new version of iTunes that was required for the Apple TV to recognize my laptop. I updated it and within a few minutes, I was basking in all its glory. Netflix content looks great also. To the reviewers that are saying it's not full HD, you can't tell the difference unless you are watching it on a super big screen. I have a 37" Toshiba and it looks just like HD content on tv.
3 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good but still limited
by LeeC850 on June 3, 2011
Pros: Small size and easy set-up make it ideal for first time users plus the popularity of the iPod, iPhone and iPad has made everyone familiar with the iTunes store and how it works.
Cons: Not expandable.
No internal storage except buffering.
Home Sharing.Summary: I have had an Apple TV since generation 1 first came out and it directly led to me dropping my cable subscription completely. Needless to say I was very pleased ...
Summary: I have had an Apple TV since generation 1 first came out and it directly led to me dropping my cable subscription completely. Needless to say I was very pleased when I heard Apple was going to be taking this fine product off the back burner and give it a much needed update. Unfortunately I don't think Apple listened to the complaints about their first attempt because in most cases they made the problems worse not better.
The first generation Apple TV's connected to your iTunes library via sync and was listed under the "devices" menu on iTunes. What this means is that as long as the Apple TV was on it retained your listing of shows and showed them quickly in the menu. The latest version connects via something Apple has called "home sharing" and it's functions have not been so smooth. It does not stay connected and every time you try to see your home library it pulls the information down all over again. So for those of us who have extensive library's this is not a quick process. It also tends to just not work way to often and requires you to turn home sharing off and on to try and connect to your library again.
The next change confused me even more. They removed the internal storage completely and offered no way to expand the device to accommodate this fact. The old version didn't exactly have massive storage at 160GB (largest) but at least it was something. I understand the minimalist design they were going for but the old version wasn't exactly huge so I am unclear on what was accomplished by making it even smaller other then removing features that were actually good to have. The internal storage allowed for downloading large files all at once and then not having to burden your network while you were watching it. As far as expandability goes this just seems an odd choice to make yet again (generation 1 didn't have that ability either). As people's iTunes library's continue to grow this is going to become a serious limitation unless they can get home sharing to work smoothly without regard to size of the library.
What did improve with the Generation 2 was the streaming capability and smooth operation. When home sharing is working it can download and buffer TV shows and movies almost seamlessly. About the only limitation I have noticed is if you want to immediately jump to a certain section of a program you have to wait a few minutes till it buffers up to that point.
As a streaming device and internet connection the new Apple TV is a huge success. As a means to watch your iTunes library content on your TV... it could use some work.2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Apple tv saves me about $1100.00 a year
by ronart7 on October 15, 2010
Pros: Ease of set up and use, netflix streaming, itunes streaming, cost to buy and cost of operation, overall design, and iOS based system that almost without question will have more content as the months progress.
Cons: The cons are not so much cons, more than they are annoyances, i.e. the supplied remote is adequate, but will force you to shut the lid on your macbook, as it will control front row, and itunes. The "remote" app takes care of this without a hiccup.
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Apple
- Part number: MC572LL/A
- Description: Apple TV gives you access to an easy-to-navigate world of entertainment. Rent HD movies. Buy HD TV shows. Listen to your iTunes music. Even show off your photos. Connect one HDMI cable and, just like that, Apple TV turns your TV into so much more. Not only does the Apple TV have an amazingly small footprint, it's also incredibly energy efficient. It stays cool without a fan, so it's never noisy. And when it's not filling your living room with drama, romance, and comedy, it uses less power than a night-light. Everything you want to watch - movies, TV shows, photos, and more - streams wirelessly to Apple TV. That way you don't have to worry about managing storage or syncing to your iTunes library. HD movie and TV show rentals play over the Internet to your widescreen TV, while music and photos stream from your computer. Either way, all you have to do is click and play. And just like watching a DVD, you can fast-forward through opening credits, pause for a popcorn break, or replay a hilarious scene until you memorize every line. No more waiting for DVDs or watching stale blockbusters on cable. With Apple TV, you get instant access to the hottest Hollywood titles and new releases - often the same day they come out on DVD. Popular movies are never out of stock and you can rent as many as you want. That's perfect for those spontaneous movie nights (or afternoons or mornings). Search by top movies, title, or genre. Even read a quick movie review, watch the trailer, and check out the latest ratings from Rotten Tomatoes. Once you find what you're looking for, simply press Play, and in seconds, you're watching the opening credits with theater-like Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. With Apple TV, anytime is prime time. That's because you can rent your favorite TV shows - sitcoms, dramas, and reality series - on the spot, completely commercial free and in HD. Watch a show the day after it airs, or camp out on your couch and catch up on past seasons with a marathon of back-to-back episodes. Say it's midseason and you can't make it home in time to watch this week's episode of your favorite show. Apple TV keeps track of your favorite shows so the next time you turn on your TV, you can quickly see which season you're watching and which episodes are new. Select shows with a few clicks of the included remote. And if your viewing list gets a bit long, Apple TV lets you rearrange it any way you want by clicking and reordering shows using the remote.
General
- Type of product Digital multimedia receiver
- Dimensions (WxDxH) 3.9 in x 3.9 in x 0.9 in
- Weight 9.6 oz
Network & Internet
- Functionality Internet video playback,
Digital video playback,
Digital audio playback,
Digital photo playback - Internet Streaming Services Netflix ,
YouTube Component features
- Supported Audio Standards Protected AAC,
AIFF,
WAV,
AAC,
MP3,
Apple Lossless,
HE-AAC - Supported Pictures Standard JPG,
GIF,
TIFF - Supported Video Standards Motion-JPEG,
Protected H.264,
MPEG-4,
H.264,
MOV Connectors
- Optical Digital Output Yes
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x - Rear,
1 x ( RJ-45 ) - Rear,
1 x SPDIF output - Rear Remote Control
- Type Remote control
- Technology Infrared
Power
- Type Internal
- Power Consumption Operational 6 Watt
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Apple products on Shopper.com
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- Manufacturer:Apple
- Address:
One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014 - Phone: 1-408-996-1010
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